I must've fallen asleep on the roof, because when I woke up...I was on the
roof. I sighed and looked up at the sky, maybe to find a trace of the
stars. But of course, the stars had disappeared, so I climbed back into the
apartment. I walked by the clock on my way to my bathroom to shower before
work when I realized that I was already 2 hours late for work. So I did
what Bobby had taught me to do, call in sick.
After the short phone call I went and had my shower, possibly the longest shower in the history of Bobby's apartment. Walking into my room I heard the door open and some feet shuffle in, then I heard a crash, a mumbled laugh and then the couch springs squeak. Pulling my bunnyhug over my head I walked to the door to investigate.
And from the crack that my door was open I saw Bobby on top of someone on the couch. Seeing this not as an awkward situation but as the chance of a lifetime, I leant against the doorframe and pushed the door open, smiling when it banged against the wall.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" I said, my ever-present grin in place. Bobby gave me a weak smile before toppling onto the floor. I laughed out loud at the expression on both his and the mystery lady's face. I made a tsk-ing sound and made my way to the kitchen. "Now Bobby, didn' your maman raise you better den to bring ladies home when der's a chile in de house?"
"That child is supposed to be at work!" Bobby said standing up and brushing his pants off before offering the woman his hand. As he pulled her to her feet I recognized her and smiled.
"Bonjour Madame, 'tis nice t' see you again." I said offering my hand. Leave it to Bobby to sleep with his boss.
"You too darling, you too." She said shaking my hand briefly then rearranging her shirt.
"Why aren't you at work again? I missed your answer..." Bobby said forcefully. I smiled at him.
"I never went t' work today mon amis, I fell asleep on de roof las' night an' when I woke up I was late." I said shrugging and went back to the kitchen. "I called in sick."
I fixed myself a sandwich and basked in the awkward silence that I had caused. After taking a giant bite of my sandwich I turned around and observed them standing awkwardly.
"I t'ink I'm gonna go an'...do sometin' else. You two have fun." I said and walked out the front door of the apartment, only to open it a second later. "Remember Bobby no glove no love mon amis!" I said and ducked out of the room again before he could attack me.
Sighing as my feet hit the pavement, I realized that I had nowhere to go. So I wandered. I remember someone once telling me that they did their best pondering whilst they strolled. I'm guessing it was Hank. I kicked the stone in front of my foot as I made my way to the park. I figured the park would be a good place to go, there's a lot to do at said park.
"Well I'll be damned." A voice said from behind the chain link fence that enclosed the basketball court. I stopped and turned to find Mike smiling back at me. "Why the hell didn't you show up for work today."
"I was sick." I said walking towards the fence. Mike laughed.
"You don't seem sick to me." He said holding a basketball under his arm. I shrugged and wrapped my arms around my waist. "You want to play?"
"I don' play basketball mon amis." I said smiling.
"Well what do you want to do then, we were just saying how bored we are. I mean if you want to hang out that is." Mike said motioning back at his friends who waved at me.
"Well I would say dat we should hit a pool hall, but I wouldn' wan' t' embarrass you." I said cracking a grin. I knew that he would take that as a challenge, all guys did. Mike laughed at my request.
"Hey guys, little K thinks she can school us at pool." He yelled back at his friends, his eyes never leaving mine. His friends laughed and approached the fence that divided us. "Okay, you're on."
I smiled and waited for them to come around the fence. When they did Mike attacked me and threw me over his shoulder. Despite my multitude of protests he carried me the entire way to the pool hall.
"So how're we playin' dis?" I asked picking up a pool cue and examining it before picking another one.
"How about, twenty bucks a game." Mike said laying a bill on the table. I smiled and put my bill on the table on top of his. "You break."
I laughed at his stupid mistake. I broke and four balls went in. One of his friends let out a low whistle and I shot him a grin as I took another shot. Of course, Mike never even got a chance to play, but no one was there to take my money.
"Damn Mikey, think of the shitload of cash we could make with her!" Jamie said as they watched me sink every ball on the table. I turned and looked at them. "Think about it guy!"
"Back off James, if you guys want to hustle that's fine, but leave Little K out of it. Got me?" Mike said. Mind you, making a few extra bucks didn't sound half-bad.
"Non mon amis. Dis could be fun..." I said stepping into their conversation. Hell hustling was in my blood.
"I know it sounds all good, a little extra cash right? Well you can lose a shitload of cash if you lose a game kid." Mike said turning to me. It was obvious that he didn't want me to do this, but I didn't run away from home just to listen to some kid who thought he knew what was best for me. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I don' lose." I said forcefully. So reluctantly they set up the pitch and we made our way to a downtown pool hall. I sat at the bar with Mike, pretending to be dating him. IT felt weird, like I was betraying someone, but I went along with it anyway.
Finally one of the guys pointed towards me and I walked over. "What's goin' on?"
"Fifty bucks a ball little lady." The big burly man said with an evil grin. I smiled and nodded, grabbing a pool cue.
"I break non?" I asked, he laughed and nodded.
"I almost feel bad taking money from a pretty thing like you." He said as I set up my shot, I just shook my head and broke. Smiling when 4 balls hit the pockets. I continued to put the balls in the pockets, not noticing when a familiar face entered the smoky pool hall. As I shot the eight ball into the corner pocket, with my eyes closed I swear I heard a whimper emit from the large man.
"I believe you owe me 750$ mon amis." I said smirking and holding out my hand. The burly man grumbled and reached into his back pocket, but before he could pay me a man rested his hand on his shoulder. The burly man turned.
"Jean-Luc! What're are you doing here?" the burly man asked as he hugged the other man. My heart caught in my chest as I looked up at the man. Jean- Luc LeBeau, I hadn't seen him in at least 6 years. I just stood quietly, knowing that he probably wouldn't recognize me, but I was scared shitless either way. My grandfather wasn't a very compassionate man, he wasn't known for being the nicest guy on the block.
"I came t' play some pool. Seems t' me dat you got worked mon amis." Jean- Luc said giving his friend a hearty pat on the back.
"Yea well, the little thing caught me by surprise." The big man replied glaring at me. I smiled back at him and held out my hand.
"Well now, we have a little hustler on our hands? What d'you say chile, one rematch?" Jean-Luc said, his eyes twinkling in an all too familiar manner. I hesitated, there was an old saying in our family 'At pool, no one can beat a LeBeau, except a LeBeau'. The question was, could I beat my grandfather? Deciding that indeed I could beat him I grinned and nodded.
"Double or nothing!" Mike yelled from behind me. My eyes grew wide before I turned and glared at him.
"Excuse moi Monsieur." I said and pulled Mike away from the game. "Are you crazy? Do you know who dat is?"
Mike looked blank so I continued with my rant. "Dat be Jean-Luc LeBeau, der ain't no mortal man dats EVER beat him!" with one last glare I turned back to the pool table.
"How 'bout for 750$?" Jean-Luc suggested and I shook on it. "You break mademoiselle."
I grinned and broke, watching only three balls go in I took another shot, missing. This was not going to be a fair game. I watched Jean-Luc play and realized that he was taking it easy on me. I watched one his third shot as none of the balls went in. He turned to me and waited for me to take my shot.
"Aren't you goin' t' shoot?" Jean-Luc said.
"I don' need no handout monsieur, now ders two way we can play dis. You can let me win like you're doin' now, or we can actually play a game like we do down south." I said and waited for his response. He smiled and nodded at me then snapped his fingers.
"Rack 'em up." He said and a few of his lackeys did so. I grinned and broke again watching three balls hit the pockets. I sunk another ball then missed another shot. I watched as Jean-Luc took four shots in succession, not missing one of them until his fifth try. By now we had acquired a small crowd, but it didn't matter we were too focused on the game at hand. By the end we were both tied with only the eight ball left and it was my shot. Now I could ruin his reputation and take the 1500$ or I could let him keep the title and lose a whole lot of money. Grinning I took my cur into my right hand and swung it behind my back.
"Eight ball, corner pocket." I said and closed my eyes, took my shot and smiled when it went in. Holding out my hand towards the two men that owed me money I smiled. Reluctantly the burly man handed over his money and I turned to see Jean-Luc smiling. He handed over my money and the boys and me started to walk out.
"I thought no one could beat a LeBeau at pool!" the burly man said angrily. Jean-Luc smiled.
"No one can beat a LeBeau 'cept for another LeBeau." Jean-Luc said, just loud enough for me to hear as I was walking out the door. I paused in the doorway and cast a smile over my shoulder before continuing out the door.
I walked along the busy streets with the boys as they gushed about how cool that was. I was pretty quiet the whole way home, silently praying that Jean- Luc wouldn't tell Papa about this.
"You okay?" one of the guys asked finally, I flashed them a smile and nodded. Mike lingered near the back of the gang with me for a few moments.
"I thought you said that no man could beat him." He said to me quietly. I shook my head.
"I said no mortal man mon amis." I said walking quietly. Mike nodded and then caught up with the guys. I walked in silence again until they called out to me.
"Hey we're gonna go play some basketball, you wanna come?" on of the guys yelled out. I shook my head. They shrugged and started to run off.
"Hey! Your money!" I yelled after them. Mike turned around and yelled that I should keep it. I smiled, I think it was time to go shopping. Hopping onto a bus I rode back to Bobby's, bursting through the door to see if I could catch them again, I couldn't.
"Hey where have you been all day?" Bobby smiled from the kitchen where he was sitting with Nancy.
"Playin' pool." I said and threw my wad of cash on the table.
"Holy shit!" Bobby and Nancy said at the same time. Bobby grabbed the cash and started counting it.
"There's like more than a grand in here!" Bobby exclaimed as I got a bottle of water from the fridge. I nodded and sat at the table with them. "How many games did you play?"
"Two." I said lounging. "50 bucks a ball and then another game for750$"
"Wow." Bobby said holding the money.
"So get dressed, we are all goin' out t' dinner." I said. "My treat."
After the short phone call I went and had my shower, possibly the longest shower in the history of Bobby's apartment. Walking into my room I heard the door open and some feet shuffle in, then I heard a crash, a mumbled laugh and then the couch springs squeak. Pulling my bunnyhug over my head I walked to the door to investigate.
And from the crack that my door was open I saw Bobby on top of someone on the couch. Seeing this not as an awkward situation but as the chance of a lifetime, I leant against the doorframe and pushed the door open, smiling when it banged against the wall.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" I said, my ever-present grin in place. Bobby gave me a weak smile before toppling onto the floor. I laughed out loud at the expression on both his and the mystery lady's face. I made a tsk-ing sound and made my way to the kitchen. "Now Bobby, didn' your maman raise you better den to bring ladies home when der's a chile in de house?"
"That child is supposed to be at work!" Bobby said standing up and brushing his pants off before offering the woman his hand. As he pulled her to her feet I recognized her and smiled.
"Bonjour Madame, 'tis nice t' see you again." I said offering my hand. Leave it to Bobby to sleep with his boss.
"You too darling, you too." She said shaking my hand briefly then rearranging her shirt.
"Why aren't you at work again? I missed your answer..." Bobby said forcefully. I smiled at him.
"I never went t' work today mon amis, I fell asleep on de roof las' night an' when I woke up I was late." I said shrugging and went back to the kitchen. "I called in sick."
I fixed myself a sandwich and basked in the awkward silence that I had caused. After taking a giant bite of my sandwich I turned around and observed them standing awkwardly.
"I t'ink I'm gonna go an'...do sometin' else. You two have fun." I said and walked out the front door of the apartment, only to open it a second later. "Remember Bobby no glove no love mon amis!" I said and ducked out of the room again before he could attack me.
Sighing as my feet hit the pavement, I realized that I had nowhere to go. So I wandered. I remember someone once telling me that they did their best pondering whilst they strolled. I'm guessing it was Hank. I kicked the stone in front of my foot as I made my way to the park. I figured the park would be a good place to go, there's a lot to do at said park.
"Well I'll be damned." A voice said from behind the chain link fence that enclosed the basketball court. I stopped and turned to find Mike smiling back at me. "Why the hell didn't you show up for work today."
"I was sick." I said walking towards the fence. Mike laughed.
"You don't seem sick to me." He said holding a basketball under his arm. I shrugged and wrapped my arms around my waist. "You want to play?"
"I don' play basketball mon amis." I said smiling.
"Well what do you want to do then, we were just saying how bored we are. I mean if you want to hang out that is." Mike said motioning back at his friends who waved at me.
"Well I would say dat we should hit a pool hall, but I wouldn' wan' t' embarrass you." I said cracking a grin. I knew that he would take that as a challenge, all guys did. Mike laughed at my request.
"Hey guys, little K thinks she can school us at pool." He yelled back at his friends, his eyes never leaving mine. His friends laughed and approached the fence that divided us. "Okay, you're on."
I smiled and waited for them to come around the fence. When they did Mike attacked me and threw me over his shoulder. Despite my multitude of protests he carried me the entire way to the pool hall.
"So how're we playin' dis?" I asked picking up a pool cue and examining it before picking another one.
"How about, twenty bucks a game." Mike said laying a bill on the table. I smiled and put my bill on the table on top of his. "You break."
I laughed at his stupid mistake. I broke and four balls went in. One of his friends let out a low whistle and I shot him a grin as I took another shot. Of course, Mike never even got a chance to play, but no one was there to take my money.
"Damn Mikey, think of the shitload of cash we could make with her!" Jamie said as they watched me sink every ball on the table. I turned and looked at them. "Think about it guy!"
"Back off James, if you guys want to hustle that's fine, but leave Little K out of it. Got me?" Mike said. Mind you, making a few extra bucks didn't sound half-bad.
"Non mon amis. Dis could be fun..." I said stepping into their conversation. Hell hustling was in my blood.
"I know it sounds all good, a little extra cash right? Well you can lose a shitload of cash if you lose a game kid." Mike said turning to me. It was obvious that he didn't want me to do this, but I didn't run away from home just to listen to some kid who thought he knew what was best for me. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I don' lose." I said forcefully. So reluctantly they set up the pitch and we made our way to a downtown pool hall. I sat at the bar with Mike, pretending to be dating him. IT felt weird, like I was betraying someone, but I went along with it anyway.
Finally one of the guys pointed towards me and I walked over. "What's goin' on?"
"Fifty bucks a ball little lady." The big burly man said with an evil grin. I smiled and nodded, grabbing a pool cue.
"I break non?" I asked, he laughed and nodded.
"I almost feel bad taking money from a pretty thing like you." He said as I set up my shot, I just shook my head and broke. Smiling when 4 balls hit the pockets. I continued to put the balls in the pockets, not noticing when a familiar face entered the smoky pool hall. As I shot the eight ball into the corner pocket, with my eyes closed I swear I heard a whimper emit from the large man.
"I believe you owe me 750$ mon amis." I said smirking and holding out my hand. The burly man grumbled and reached into his back pocket, but before he could pay me a man rested his hand on his shoulder. The burly man turned.
"Jean-Luc! What're are you doing here?" the burly man asked as he hugged the other man. My heart caught in my chest as I looked up at the man. Jean- Luc LeBeau, I hadn't seen him in at least 6 years. I just stood quietly, knowing that he probably wouldn't recognize me, but I was scared shitless either way. My grandfather wasn't a very compassionate man, he wasn't known for being the nicest guy on the block.
"I came t' play some pool. Seems t' me dat you got worked mon amis." Jean- Luc said giving his friend a hearty pat on the back.
"Yea well, the little thing caught me by surprise." The big man replied glaring at me. I smiled back at him and held out my hand.
"Well now, we have a little hustler on our hands? What d'you say chile, one rematch?" Jean-Luc said, his eyes twinkling in an all too familiar manner. I hesitated, there was an old saying in our family 'At pool, no one can beat a LeBeau, except a LeBeau'. The question was, could I beat my grandfather? Deciding that indeed I could beat him I grinned and nodded.
"Double or nothing!" Mike yelled from behind me. My eyes grew wide before I turned and glared at him.
"Excuse moi Monsieur." I said and pulled Mike away from the game. "Are you crazy? Do you know who dat is?"
Mike looked blank so I continued with my rant. "Dat be Jean-Luc LeBeau, der ain't no mortal man dats EVER beat him!" with one last glare I turned back to the pool table.
"How 'bout for 750$?" Jean-Luc suggested and I shook on it. "You break mademoiselle."
I grinned and broke, watching only three balls go in I took another shot, missing. This was not going to be a fair game. I watched Jean-Luc play and realized that he was taking it easy on me. I watched one his third shot as none of the balls went in. He turned to me and waited for me to take my shot.
"Aren't you goin' t' shoot?" Jean-Luc said.
"I don' need no handout monsieur, now ders two way we can play dis. You can let me win like you're doin' now, or we can actually play a game like we do down south." I said and waited for his response. He smiled and nodded at me then snapped his fingers.
"Rack 'em up." He said and a few of his lackeys did so. I grinned and broke again watching three balls hit the pockets. I sunk another ball then missed another shot. I watched as Jean-Luc took four shots in succession, not missing one of them until his fifth try. By now we had acquired a small crowd, but it didn't matter we were too focused on the game at hand. By the end we were both tied with only the eight ball left and it was my shot. Now I could ruin his reputation and take the 1500$ or I could let him keep the title and lose a whole lot of money. Grinning I took my cur into my right hand and swung it behind my back.
"Eight ball, corner pocket." I said and closed my eyes, took my shot and smiled when it went in. Holding out my hand towards the two men that owed me money I smiled. Reluctantly the burly man handed over his money and I turned to see Jean-Luc smiling. He handed over my money and the boys and me started to walk out.
"I thought no one could beat a LeBeau at pool!" the burly man said angrily. Jean-Luc smiled.
"No one can beat a LeBeau 'cept for another LeBeau." Jean-Luc said, just loud enough for me to hear as I was walking out the door. I paused in the doorway and cast a smile over my shoulder before continuing out the door.
I walked along the busy streets with the boys as they gushed about how cool that was. I was pretty quiet the whole way home, silently praying that Jean- Luc wouldn't tell Papa about this.
"You okay?" one of the guys asked finally, I flashed them a smile and nodded. Mike lingered near the back of the gang with me for a few moments.
"I thought you said that no man could beat him." He said to me quietly. I shook my head.
"I said no mortal man mon amis." I said walking quietly. Mike nodded and then caught up with the guys. I walked in silence again until they called out to me.
"Hey we're gonna go play some basketball, you wanna come?" on of the guys yelled out. I shook my head. They shrugged and started to run off.
"Hey! Your money!" I yelled after them. Mike turned around and yelled that I should keep it. I smiled, I think it was time to go shopping. Hopping onto a bus I rode back to Bobby's, bursting through the door to see if I could catch them again, I couldn't.
"Hey where have you been all day?" Bobby smiled from the kitchen where he was sitting with Nancy.
"Playin' pool." I said and threw my wad of cash on the table.
"Holy shit!" Bobby and Nancy said at the same time. Bobby grabbed the cash and started counting it.
"There's like more than a grand in here!" Bobby exclaimed as I got a bottle of water from the fridge. I nodded and sat at the table with them. "How many games did you play?"
"Two." I said lounging. "50 bucks a ball and then another game for750$"
"Wow." Bobby said holding the money.
"So get dressed, we are all goin' out t' dinner." I said. "My treat."